CHARGERS: O-line gets job done against Broncos

DENVER ---- Marcus McNeill was in a good mood Sunday night. His
Chargers were back atop the AFC West after a 32-3 victory over the
Denver Broncos, which is more than enough to make the left tackle
smile.

The result wasn't the only source of pride. McNeill and his
mates along the offensive line left Denver with two more badges of
honor: The Chargers ran at will and quarterback Philip Rivers'
jersey was as white as Denver snow.

"It's pretty clean, just how we like it," McNeill said. "I don't
think he needs to wash it for next week."

Rivers' was touched only once at Invesco Field, and he wasn't
knocked down. That's a stark contrast to the previous meeting, when
the Broncos sacked Rivers a career-high five times and hit him many
more.

"You always want to keep him clean and give him time to work,"
center Scott Mruczkowski said. "We were able to do that, which has
a lot to do with first- and second-down efficiency. That kept them
out of their crazy blitz packages, which helped us out."

The running game was a big part of that. The Chargers had 203
yards rushing against the Broncos, 4 more yards than they amassed
in the first three games combined.

"That's it?" McNeill said with a smile. "Huh. It felt like
more."

It's the first time the Chargers have rushed for more than 200
yards since the 2008 regular-season finale against the Broncos.

This wasn't a case of LaDainian Tomlinson doing his thing. Mike
Tolbert, Jacob Hester and Darren Sproles also got in on the action,
which helped cement victory in the fourth quarter.

"This is the first time we've been in the position to wear a
team down with the run," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "When you
do that, offensive linemen love it."

They took great pleasure in grinding out this win, physically
besting a talented Broncos defense as the game progressed.

This marks the second straight solid rushing performance by a
group that statistically stands as the NFL's worst. There is marked
improvement in the running game and in pass protection, even on
deep routes that take longer to develop.

"That's what we want to do every week," McNeill said. "We've put
a complete game together, and we're going to build on it and come
back even better. We're committed to running the football and
keeping Philip upright, and we've produced the last two weeks.
Hopefully that trend will continue."

Contact staff writer Scott Bair at 760-739-6642. Go to
sportsblogs.nctimes.com for more Chargers news and notes.